Judith is a trained Alexander Technique teacher, and her work dove-tails with that of Charles: he deals with understanding, handling and riding the horse. Judith’s expertise is with the position and body use of the rider.
For more information and a comprehensive explanation of the Alexander Technique please follow link to www.stat.org.co.uk. Judith took Alexander lessons for several years before committing to the three year training process.
Teaching riders was Judith’s aim, having experienced postural problems in her own ridden work, which improved dramatically with the Technique.
‘For many riders , tension creeps into one or more of the following places – neck, shoulders, arms and hands ,hips, thighs, calves, ankles. These tensions can be released by learning the technique, allowing a more fluid and aligned body. This learning is not difficult , our bodies are designed to work in an efficient and graceful way , but stresses and tensions tighten us over time , leading to stiff and braced riding. The effect on the horse is easy to imagine! We know horses mirror our tensions, and we cannot expect the horse to move easily if we are gripping on the reins, or have vice like grip on the saddle!
It is very hard explaining what the releases feel like, and each person has individual tensions and twists, so every lesson is different. The Alexander teacher acts as a guide to the rider, so that ‘tight spots’ can be eased away with hands on work and vocal directions.
Alexander lessons are described on the Stat website, and for people new to the technique, I would recommend at least four lessons before work commences on horseback. Ridden lessons are generally at low paces and unlike a traditional ridden lesson. Some work is done stationary, then usually on the lunge at walk and trot, which allows the pupil to concentrate on the deeper seat they are experiencing.
I call my work ‘SEATSECURE’ because that is the effect it has. The seat bones and buttocks are deeper onto the saddle. Legs are dropping away from the hip joints without bracing into the stirrups. The back lengthens and absorbs the horse’s movement, allowing softer sitting trot. Aids are clearer to the horse because the rider is relaxed and balanced.’ With a body following the horse’s movement rather than blocking the forward energy, horses move more freely.
Below are pictures taken recently, which give an indication of what the work might entail. This was an individual lesson with Jayne Lavender as my model.
As well as individual lessons, group workshops can be an interesting and playful way of learning more about the Technique, and to develop body awareness. The following pictures were taken as part of 2007 summer camp. The teacher working with me is Sue Rotheram, also a Stat teacher, and for demos/talks for riding clubs, livery yards, etc.; we are happy to work as a team!
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| Judith works with her client at her specialist clinic for riders |
Highly-regarded by actors and increasingly popular among sports people, the Alexander Technique is a 100-year-old therapy used to help improve posture and physical performance. Now a Ryedale-based teacher is specialising in using it to help horse riders hone their skills.
CLAIRE BOTTOMLEY went along to find out more.
Judith Wilson freely admits that many people have never heard of the Alexander Technique.
"It is not particularly well known, but the advantage of that is that people find me when they really need me, " she said. "So rather than just coming and expecting to have something done, they are prepared to work with you because they have found out about it and want to make it work."
Judith herself found Alexander Technique after suffering intense back pain riding.
"I can hardly remember where I first heard of it, but I went to lessons with the local teacher in Malton. I'd had aches and pains and been to see a chiropractor and short term it would sort them out, but it was not getting to the cause of why they were there."
Watch a young child walk and they have ideal posture, their head balanced perfectly on their spine. It is amazing how toddlers take to activities like swimming and skiing naturally in a way that tense, nervous adults could never dream of.
That's because we learn to over-use our outer muscles as adults, and become weary, causing tensions in our bodies that become an habitual way of moving.
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| Judith uses a skeleton to illustrate how the body is designed to move |
Alexander Technique breaks down those habits and works on relaxing the body, letting gravity take its weight and re-educating people about taking strength from their skeletons instead of their muscles.
"Many people are learning to ride as adults now, so helping them to relax and not tense up can really make a difference, " said Judith.
She divides her time between standard sessions, helping people with back problems and other body issues, and sessions tailored specifically for riders.
Judith's horse riding credentials are top notch. She grew up on a farm and is married to Charles, a farmer and teacher of natural horsemanship, who has just written a book on the subject. She's shown horses, bred them and done hunting and dressage.
And as for Alexander Technique expertise, she completed a three-year course in York before setting up in practice at her home in Sinnington.
"It is growing more popular in sport, and anything where performance can be hindered by tension can be helped by Alexander Technique, " said Judith.
To find out first-hand what it's all about, Judith gave me an Alexander Technique session, and I was amazed by the effect.
I lay down on a table and Judith held my head in her hands and asked me to completely let the weight go. She then held parts of my arms and legs and put gentle pressure on joints, instantly releasing tension that I hadn't even realised was there.
Then we did some work standing up, adjusting and thinking about letting the weight of my body fall through my legs and joints, supported by gravity and the floor and relying on the senses in my feet and shooting up through my body for balance.
I also thought about the centre of gravity at the point where the spine meets the skull, at a much higher point than we realise, so that I stopped straining my neck unnecessarily to support my neck.
"Describing it can sound very dry, you really have to experience it to understand, " said Judith. "And for riders, they always want to do something. Getting into the mindset teaching yourself not to do things goes against the grain."
But when a client has a breakthrough, it is very rewarding. "I had a rider the other day who realised that by just subtly pivoting her torso she could get the horse to move, rather than straining her body to one side, which was great, " she said. "She's probably heard it a thousand times but she had to discover the movement herself."
And as for me, I may not have been on horseback but I was walking on air by the time I left Judith's. Not only was the session as relaxing as a massage, I have also been thinking about my posture ever since.
Yes, I think I'm getting the technique?
About Alexander Technique
It was invented in the 1890s by an actor, Frederick Alexander, who was struggling with voice problems. The method improves breathing which results in better voice projection, making it popular with actors like Dame Judi Dench and John Cleese.Alexander Technique is often used in the treatment of back, neck and shoulder pain, as well as Parkinson's Disease.
Qualified Alexander teachers like Judith have undertaken a three-year, full-time approved training course and be listed in the directory held by the Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique (STAT). For details visit www.stat.org.uk
For more information about Judith's teaching visit www.sinningtonmanor.co.uk or call 01751 433296.
1:13pm Thursday 10th January 2008
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